Spanish La Liga Preview

Barcelona maintained their nine-point lead over Atletico Madrid, but capitalized on Real Madrid’s failure

We’re just two weeks into January and already the Spanish La Liga seems wrapped up. Barcelona maintained their nine-point lead over Atletico Madrid, but capitalized on Real Madrid’s failure, stretching their lead over their arch-rivals to a staggering 16 points. Los Blancos welcome Villarreal to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, hoping to close the gap between themselves and Barcelona, who travel to Real Sociedad. There’s plenty of other exciting matches to look forward to, so let’s get straight into it!Friday 12 January15/20 Getafe | Draw 49/20 | Malaga 39/10 (22:00)Getafe get gameweek 19 underway at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez when they host rock-bottom Malaga. The hosts will be confident at home, where they are unbeaten in five matches, winning four times. In that run, they’ve kept three clean sheets in a row. Malaga have struggled this season and suffered their third defeat on the trot on Monday, going down 1-0 at home to Espanyol. The home win is an absolute banker – get on!Saturday 13 January15/20 Girona | 28/10 | Las Palmas 34/10 (14:00)Girona kick-started their year off in disappointing fashion, losing 2-1 at Valencia in a game that saw 10 yellow cards shared between both sides. They’ll be confident of returning to winning ways when they welcome Las Palmas to the Estadi Montilivi. The Yellows sit second from the bottom and have won just one of their nine away games this season. This will be the sides’ first meeting in the top flight, and I’m expecting the hosts to claim all three points here.1/4 Real Madrid | 52/10 | Villarreal 15/2 (17:15)La Liga champions, Real Madrid, have been poor this season as they suffered another setback, drawing 2-2 against Celta Vigo. The title race may not be entirely over, but the champions can count themselves out of it. Villarreal were also held as they drew 1-1 with strugglers, Deportivo. The Yellow Submarine have won two successive away games, while Madrid will be hoping to get over their last home match – a 3-0 defeat to Barcelona. A tight affair is expected, with Both Teams to Score tipped at 11/20.31/10 Eibar | 9/4 | Atletico Madrid 19/20 (19:30)Eibar continued where they left off, beating Las Palmas 2-1 away from home to go unbeaten in seven matches. In those seven games, the hosts have won six of those, including three in a row. Up next, they face Atletico Madrid, who will be looking to make it back-to-back wins. Diego Costa scored and received a second yellow card on his return-league debut, but should return for this match, with Atletico playing Copa del Rey action in midweek. With Barcelona commanding such a huge lead at the top of the table, every match will seem like a cup final for Atletico. I’m backing them to grind out a victory and end Eibar’s impressive run.21/10 Deportivo | 49/20 | Valencia 12/10 (21:45)Deportivo will be looking to remain clear of the relegation zone when they host Valencia on Saturday night. Depor managed an impressive 1-1 draw last time out against Villarreal, while the Bats kept up the pressure in third spot with a 2-1 win over Girona. The hosts have won just one of their last five home matches, losing three times. Valencia are winless on the road in three matches, but have had no difficulty scoring this season. Back Over 2.5 Goals here at 15/20.

Sunday 14 January2/1 Levante | 23/10 | Celta Vigo 13/10 (13:00)Sunday’s action kicks off with 16th-placed Levante hosting 15th-placed Celta Vigo. Four points separate these two sides, meaning Levante will be unable to catch up on their opponents here. The hosts are winless in six matches, losing and drawing three each. Celta achieved one of the results of the weekend to draw 2-2 with Real Madrid. In that game, Iago Aspas missed a penalty which would have granted Celta victory. Back the visitors on the Double Chance & Both Teams to Score at 5/4.23/10 Alaves | 23/10 | Sevilla 12/10 (17:15)Relegation-threatened, Alaves, will be hoping to escape the red zone when they welcome Sevilla to the Mendizorrotza Stadium. The hosts have the weakest attack in the league, scoring just 13 goals in 18 matches – level with Leganes and Malaga. They’ve managed just three wins from nine home games, suffering six defeats. Sevilla boast the exact same record away from home, winning three times and losing nine. I’m backing Over 2.5 Goals here at 19/20.31/20 Espanyol | 21/10 | Athletic Bilbao 19/10 (19:30)Espanyol moved closer to the top half of the table with their hard-fought 1-0 win over Malaga on Monday night. That was their second win on the spin and extended their unbeaten run to three matches. Athletic Bilbao claimed a much-needed 2-0 win over Alaves to jump four places up to ninth in the table. Both teams are known for their solid defending and I’m expecting a low-scoring affair. Back Under 2.5 Goals at 11/20.11/2 Real Sociedad | 39/10 | Barcelona 4/10 (21:45)Real Sociedad will be aiming to bounce back from their disappointing 1-0 defeat at Leganes when they host high-flying Barcelona. The runaway leaders will be unable to give Philippe Coutinho his league debut, after the Brazilian appeared to have an injury to his right thigh and is expected to be out for around three weeks. Ernesto Valverde’s men are on course of becoming ‘Invincibles’ and have been superb this season. Their last away outing came in an El Clasico against Real Madrid, who they eased past, claiming a 3-0 win. Barcelona are great value at 4/10 and are tipped with confidence.

Monday 15 January12/10 Real Betis | 9/4 | Leganes 24/10 (22:00)Real Betis climbed four spots up the table in 10th place with their stunning 5-3 victory away to Sevilla. They’ll look to cement their top half position when they host Leganes on Monday night. The visitors also climbed four places higher in the standings after their hard-fought 1-0 win over Real Sociedad. Betis claimed a 2-0 win in this fixture last season and are tipped to edge this one at 12/10.QUAD @ 9/1Getafe Win 15/20Atletico Madrid Win 19/20Barcelona Win 4/10Real Betis Win 12/10Written by Jesse Nagel

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